St. Alexander (Ofterschwang)
St. Alexander is the Catholic parish church of Ofterschwang , a municipality in the Swabian district of Oberallgäu ( Bavaria ).
History and description
Ofterschwang got its first church around 1190. This medieval church was laid out by the Ottobeuren monastery . A testimony has been handed down from 1351, according to which the Lords of Heimenhofen received the Ofterschwanger Kirchsatz at that time, for 1353 it is documented that Ofterschwang formed its own parish in the Stiefenhofen chapter . In 1508, Ofterschwang and Obermaiselstein were combined into one parish, which soon led to disagreements about the dates and places of worship.
In 1758 Franz von Königsegg received a petition in which it was pointed out how unfavorable the amalgamation of the parishes of Obermaiselstein and Ofterschwang had been: The residents of the places suffered from the long journey to the church, which led to "unbearable suffering", especially in bad weather conditions . The two parishes were then separated again.
Three years before this decision, the construction of the late Baroque successor to the medieval church began on June 7, 1755 . This church has a tower with bevelled corners and arched sound openings on the upper floor under a detached onion dome. It was built in the following five years until 1760; the first service in the new church took place on October 24, 1756. A stuccoed alliance coat of arms of Count Franz Hugo von Königsegg and Countess Maria Franziska von Hohenzollern is placed in the choir arch of the church. This coat of arms, dated 1756, suggests that the sovereign participated in the construction of the church.
The church was built from raw bricks; the sand for church building was probably obtained from the surrounding area, as the field name "Sandacker" can be found here. On July 19, 1760, the church tower was already 60 feet high, as evidenced by an entry in the parish office's death book : The craftsman Johann Burger fell from the tower to his death.
Auxiliary Bishop Franz Karl Fugger von Kirchberg and Weißenhorn consecrated the church a few days later, on July 23, 1760. The parish was looked after by Pastor Jakob Christoph Weigele from 1757 to 1811.
The church has been changed several times since the days of its construction: in 1828 a new belfry was built into the church tower. Master carpenter Josef Böck from Ofterschwang was commissioned with this work. In 1846 the exterior plaster was renewed as part of a renovation, in 1860 a floor covering made of Solnhofen slate was laid and in 1864 the choir and choir altar were restored. The inside of the church was restored and painted in 1896, but the ceiling fresco in the middle of the nave dates from the 20th century: It was created by Alois Miller in 1944 and depicts St. Alexander in court. Another interior renovation followed in 1976, followed by an exterior renovation . Between 1980 and 1983 the sacristy and portico were added and the cemetery was better connected to the church by laying paving stones. In 1985 the organ was rebuilt. The measures from 1976 onwards were primarily the result of the initiative of the retired pastor Franz-Xaver Langhans, who was therefore made an honorary citizen in 1993 and was later given a priest's grave in the Ofterschwang cemetery.
Furnishing
The altars and the pulpit date from the time of Pastor Weigele. The main altar has smooth columns and a baroque crown and also has a sculptural group of images. The main painting on the altar used to be interchangeable; a picture of Alexander and an Annunciation were available. Only the latter is now used.
The sculptures in the church represent the church fathers Ambrosius, Augustine, Gregory and Hieronymus.
Peal
St. Alexander was originally provided with two bells, but both of them cracked during the ringing of mourning after the death of King Maximilian I and could no longer be used. The bell from the chapel in Sigiswang was then borrowed , but due to its small size it did not fulfill its purpose in the church tower in Ofterschwang. Several petitions for the provision of funds for the procurement of new bells were refused. Thereupon the people who were pregnant often decided to send their chief Joseph Hatt to the Lech Valley , where he was supposed to beg the money for a new bell. At that time, loans were relatively easy to obtain there because some Lechtal residents who had moved abroad had brought home the gold treasures from a stranded ship.
Hatt's mission was successful: In 1828, Ignaz Beck in Augsburg was able to order three new bells. A fourth was cast by Fritz Hamm in 1890, also in Augsburg . This fourth bell was financed by a foundation from Joseph Bader from Sigiswang.
These four bells from the 19th century were melted down during World War I and replaced by four new bells in 1922. The Second World War also took its toll: in 1942 three of the four bells were melted down, only the largest, consecrated to St. Ulrich, was preserved. The other three bells were replaced in 1949. The new bells were cast by Engelbert Gebhardt in Kempten . They are each decorated with reliefs , one bears the Annunciation and the text “Ave Maria”, one the image of an angel and the inscription “Please, St. Guardian Angel, protect young and old "and a representation of the risen Christ and the dedication" To the victims of the Second World War ". The St. Ulrichs bell from 1922 shows Christ crucified and bears the inscription “Ofterschwanger, commemorates your 40 heroic sons who died in the World War 1914–1918”.
literature
- Hans Bader: Ofterschwang. Parish church and chapels. Horb 1998, ISBN 3-89570-409-1 , pp. 11-30
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Diocese of Augsburg
- ^ So Bader 1998, p. 12. On p. 15, however, he explains that the first church in Ofterschwang was built around 1351.
- ↑ Bader 1998, p. 15
- ↑ Quoted from Bader 1998, p. 17.
Coordinates: 47 ° 29 '45.2 " N , 10 ° 14' 17.97" E